Yoon Ina Starts Tied for 4th Place... 'US Entry in Sight'
by Roh Woolae
Published 06 Dec.2024 07:55(KST)
Updated 06 Dec.2024 14:27(KST)
LPGA Tour Q Series First Day 5-Under Par Start
Top 25 Finishers Secure Next Year’s Tour Card
Ryu Wi Leads, Yamashita 3rd, Lee Sehee 30th
Yoo Yi-na, the triple crown winner of the Korea Ladies Professional Golf Association (KLPGA) Tour, has made a fresh start.
On the 5th (local time), at the Magnolia Grove Crossings Course (par 72) of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Mobile, Alabama, USA, Yoo Yi-na recorded five birdies without a bogey in the first round of the final stage of the LPGA Tour Qualifying (Q) Series. She is tied for 4th place (5-under 67). This tournament is played over 5 rounds and 90 holes. Rounds 1 to 4 alternate between the Magnolia Grove Crossings Course and the Falls Course (par 71), with the final round held again at the Crossings Course. Finishing within the top 25 secures an LPGA Tour card for next year.
Liu Wei (China) shot a 9-under 62 on the Falls Course to take the lead. Since debuting on the LPGA Tour in 2018, she had no notable results and finished 121st in CME Globe points this year, failing to retain her tour card. Ishi Gapsa (Israel) followed with an 8-under 64 on the Crossings Course.
Among the players participating in this Q Series, Miyu Yamashita (Japan), ranked 14th in the world?the highest among the field?posted a 6-under 66 on the Crossings Course to sit in 3rd place. She has won an impressive 13 times on the Japan Ladies Professional Golf Association (JLPGA) Tour and swept the money list and MVP awards in 2022 and 2023. Yamashita competed in all five major tournaments this year with the aim of joining the LPGA Tour. Her best result was runner-up at the KPMG Women's PGA Championship.
Chisato Iwai (Japan), who has won three times on the JLPGA Tour this year, shot a 4-under 67 on the Falls Course to tie for 6th place. From Korea, Lee Se-hee, who advanced through the qualifiers to the Q Series final stage, shot a 1-under 70 on the Falls Course and finished tied for 30th on the first day. Kang Hye-ji, Joo Soo-bin, and Park Geum-gang did not improve their scores and are tied for 40th. Lee Jeong-eun 5 lost three strokes and dropped to a tie for 76th place.
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